ok so i have just tried out the orange AM and the Alpine 160 recently from owning a cannondale prophet 1 xc bike, so i tried the AM first and it was great on the downhills even though it felt a bit heavier on the climbs which put me off slightly but still a good runner with the airshock rp23 which i already have on my prophet, then few week later “today” i tried out the alpine 160 with the cane creek double barrel coil shock and it was immense, once you have the correct rebound and compression adjustments your ready to go kinda got to set it to how you feel sorta thing but once you get it right its awesome, great on the climbs because it felt lighter on the front which helped me alot and superb on the descents the bike just sinks in to any rock you drop into it just takes everything you give it, those who haven’t been on the alpine its def worth a shot 😀

Impressive lung capacity there!

no, I can’t read it. Is it good or bad?

Was the Alpine good because of the CCDB? I bet your prophet would feel just as awesomne with a CCDB.

I’ve got a Patriot with a CCDB and it’s incredible. I imagine an Alpine 160 is at least as good, and possibly lighter. I doubt a Prophet would feel as good, whatever the shock – they might look like similar designs, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

loving the stream of conciousness 🙂

you are Jean-Louis “Jack” Kerouac and I claim my five pounds

Virginia Woolf wrote similarly about her Heckler IIRC.

and you ought to read Proust banging on about his Marin.

And Joyce about…. well, whatever the bejesus Ulysses is about….

And Joyce about…. well, whatever the bejesus Ulysses is about….

Was it one of these?

Quark Bike.

I know, don’t even deserve a coat, I’ll just stand out in the cold…..

Quark bikes? That’s getting a little bohring but then I always was as thick as two short plancks…

<heads off outside to join RS />

I have some spare punctuation marks and other assorted parenthesis you can help yourself to:

,…,,,,,.,!.”,,’/.!?.,;'”()[]}{

si_progressivebikes – Member
Was the Alpine good because of the CCDB? I bet your prophet would feel just as awesome with a CCDB.

+1, that how your review reads…. so would a 5 with a CCDB be better than the Alpine?

any bike will feel infinitely better with a custom shock, the CCDB is pretty much as close as you will get to one, allowing you to adjust various aspects of the shock to suit the bike/intended use/personal preference. Dont forget that people like different types of setup, even if variables like rider weight and bike setup remain the same. A standard air shock will therefore always be a compromise.
I have been running a DHX RC4 on my blood and its a massive improvement over the standard RP23, mainly as in comparison I now have a controlled mid stroke. I tried the very same shock on my Five and again once dialled in correctly it felt much better than the standard air can.

the thing that gets me with the orange site, it says if u get the alpine 160 u get the rp23 yeh as standard but the cane creek is an exta 400 quid if you want that upgrade but if i said yeh ill have the standard rp23 and then get the cane creek few week later ive got both rear shocks instead of paying 400 for just the one and maby sell the rp23 as brand new getting money back ?

What?

Lad, there’s a reason why you are supposed to attend school. I suggest less truancy, and more, er, fluency.

RP23 ~ £250

CCDB ~ £500 + ti spring so say £650

My maths might be wrong but that looks like the £400 upgrade cost to me?

Ohhhh, and after spending the last wek chaseing 3 very fast guys on full sussers (one with DHX-5, one RP23, one RP23 but older frame design) I can say its all about the rider not the bike, they could all find criticism in their own/each others setups, but at the end of the day they were all equaly fast.

I doubt very much that the cost of upgrading to a CCDB with Orange Bikes includes a Ti spring. Chris’ point is relevant but probably reflects the true ‘OEM’ cost of the RP23, which would be about £100 to Orange, so the upgrade cost would be about right assuming they’re buying the CCDB in for around £500, which I think is what it typically costs a retailer.

I think I’d personally rather spend the £400 taking the new bike to the alps and ragging the tits off it.

actually it was my point lol (mother here)…
the CCDB is an upgradeso what happens to the RP23 that would have originally came with the price of the bike (do they throw that back in for you as well (lol)…money is money n all that… 😉

i agree with AI but u dont have to go to the alps, the bike works everywhere its a bike made for everything so the review is correct as i found out my self yesterday 🙂

If it costs retailers 500 quid for a CCDB, they should probably buy it here: CCDB

the CCDB is an upgradeso what happens to the RP23 that would have originally came with the price of the bike (do they throw that back in for you as well (lol)…money is money n all that…

Sorry mum!

As referred to above, the upgrade charge is likely to reflect the ‘net’ cost to Orange Bikes for adding in the CCDB.